Boulder elementary school also trains new teachers

Friends' School has 33 candidates this year working in area classrooms

By Amy Bounds Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
01/05/2014 04:00:00 PM MST

Friends' School, a private elementary school in Boulder, teaches children -- but also future teachers.

Teachers started the 9-year-old alternative licensing program nine years ago because, the directors said, there wasn't an option for a hands-on, residency teacher preparation program in Boulder.

"It's just a very full and rich experience," said program co-director Ed Walent. "We think it's the best way to train new teachers."

Under the residency model, teacher candidates spend four days a week in a classroom with a teacher mentor and the fifth day learning through seminars and workshops.

"One of the strongest components of our program is connecting content to a practicum," said co-director Shelby Pawlina. "These are inextricably intertwined. You get the most out of your learning when you get to apply it."

Teacher candidates -- there are 33 this school year -- work at Friends' School plus 10 others: Dawson School, Bixby School, Bear Creek Elementary, Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies, Boulder Country Day, High Peaks Elementary, Horizons K-8, Lafayette Elementary, Sanchez Elementary and Whittier International Elementary.

The candidates are observed every other week, giving them regular feedback and time for reflection. Candidates also have the option of working concurrently on their master's degree through the University of Colorado at Denver, a two-year-program.

"We see incredible growth over the year," Pawlina said. "You go from a new teacher in the fall trying to just keep from getting run over to coming up with strategies for individual students."

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One of the current teacher candidates is Amy Oien, who has a degree in environmental studies and is working with a mentor teacher in a fifth-grade classroom at Boulder's Bear Creek Elementary.

She said she chose the program because she liked that she would spend so much time in an elementary classroom.

"I learn better by applying things as we learn them, not just take a course and then try to apply it all in a couple of months," she said. "We're involved from the first day and in parent meetings and conferences. It gives a better idea of what's actually involved in being part of the community of a school."

The program is one of 25 approved by the Colorado Department of Education to allow candidates to earn an alternative teacher license. Locally, the Boulder Journey School also offers a similar program for early childhood teacher candidates.

Recruiting for next year's program starts this month. All candidates must have a bachelor's degree, pass state tests and submit fingerprints. They also go through an interview process that includes an observation of them interacting with a small group of students. Observers include the program's directors and principals at the participating schools.

"You really want to make sure it's the right fit," Walent said.

Of last year's teacher candidate group, he said, about 90 percent found teaching jobs after they were certified. He said they've gone on to teach in public and private schools, and in traditional and nontraditional settings.

One of the program graduates is Jenny Kournay, who lives in Erie and is teaching second grade this year at Lafayette's Pioneer Elementary School. Before becoming a teacher, she worked in computer science.

"I had wanted to be a teacher forever," she said. "I took a leap of faith leaving my old career."

She said she liked that she could work on her master's degree while in the program and that she could spend an entire school year in the classroom with a mentor teacher. Sharing challenges and strategies with other teacher candidates on Fridays also was "an amazing learning opportunity," she said.

She said about 80 percent of what she's doing in the classroom this year she learned through the program.

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